Christmas with May and Shadow
by ZachaRicO
Summary: Forced into hiding, Shadow ends up spending a wintry afternoon with May at the mall. Unsurprisingly, he's not happy about this. But what happens while he's there makes the day a lot more exciting than he thought it would be. Based on a video by shadow759.


**'Tis the season for giving, so here's a new oneshot for you! It's based on a short video by shadow759 on Youtube.**

 **Again, I don't own Pokemon or Sonic.**

* * *

"So how you doing?" May asked.

Shadow didn't budge when she said this. "I'm fine."

"You didn't seem fine when I picked you up," she replied. "You looked like you were hurt."

"That was no accident," he said. "I got shot in my right arm."

May gasped. "You did?! Let me see." Before the black hedgehog could protest, the bandana-clad brunette grabbed his right arm and inspected. Shadow winced slightly when she did so. "Oh, Shadow...that bullet's stuck. This is terrible!"

"It's nothing," he grumbled. "It's not like it hurts that badly."

"Don't say that!" May said, grabbing some tweezers and pinching the bullet with them.

"What are you doing?" Shadow asked.

"Pulling it out," she replied, twisting the tweezers slightly. Shadow grunted when she did so. Then the bullet in his arm moved ever-so-slightly.

"OWCH!" he roared. "That hurts!"

"I'm sorry!" she said, putting her hands out to calm him. "Please, hold still! I can do this."

"No," he snapped. "It doesn't even hurt that badly. I'll be fine."

"Shadow, do you know what bullets can do to you? Do you know what they're made of?"

"Of course," he folded his arms. "They're made of lead, and if they get stuck in someone's skin, they could get lead poisoning. But I'm not just anyone. I'm the ultimate lifeform. Lead poisoning can't kill me."

May wasn't listening to his rant. Instead, she inspected the bullet lodged in his arm. "I don't think I'll be able to pry this out," she said, shaking her head. "I'll take you to Nurse Joy. She might be able –"

"What?!" Shadow exclaimed. "No! That's too dangerous!"

"Dangerous? What –"

"May, I'm on the run," he explained. "Some strange people called hunters are causing a lot of trouble. When I tried to stop them, they came after me. Now I don't know where they are. If word should get out about my location, they'll get me."

"Can't you just fight them off?" she asked.

"No. They're much deadlier than anyone from Team Rocket or the like. If they find me, they'll capture me. That's why I need to stay hidden."

May nodded in understanding. "Okay, but these tweezers aren't going to be enough to get that bullet out of your arm," she said, getting up and shuffling through her closet.

"What do you mean? And what are you doing?" Shadow asked.

"Getting my coat," she said. "We're going shopping."

"Shopping? For what?"

"Well, I was already planning to go Christmas shopping for Ash and the rest of the gang," she smiled, adjusting her rose-colored coat and donning her signature green bandana, "so while I do that, I can get some special tool that will help you."

"I told you, I don't need you to pull this bullet out," Shadow growled, slightly irritated. "I'm perfectly fine with or without it."

"I don't care," she folded her arms. "I won't let you suffer unnecessary pain just because you can handle it." Then she tossed him some winter clothes. "Bundle up. It's below 50 out there."

"Wait, what?!" Shadow exclaimed, caught off-guard. "What do you want me to do?"

"You're coming with me," she said. "If you're really undercover, this house is a pretty poor hiding place. Besides, who expects to find Shadow the Hedgehog in the mall?"

Shadow looked around and saw that, in fact, May's house was full of windows. There would be no place to hide if he stayed. "All right," he said, shuffling through his clothes. "I'll come with you, but only because this is a terrible place to hide away."

* * *

The mall was bustling with customers as people got ready for Christmas. Traffic was high as usual, making it hard to see everything. Despite this, May and Shadow still moved smoothly through.

"This clothing itches like hell," Shadow grumbled. "Who made this, anyway?!"

"Ash's mom did," May said with a smile. "She's quite the seamstress."

"I'll bet," he muttered. "So where are we going shopping first?"

"Oh, you're not coming with me into the stores," she said. Shadow looked at her in confusion. "I have a perfect place for you to hide, where no one will notice you."

"You do?" Shadow raised an eyebrow (or whatever he had).

May nodded and walked over to a line of kids standing in line. Shadow followed her. "What's this?" he asked.

"It's the line for Santa," she said.

" _Santa?!_ " Shadow nearly shouted, only holding his voice to avoid attracting attention. "You dragged me all the way to this chop-shop just to stick me in line to see _Santa?!_ "

"Hey, think about it!" she grinned, completely unfazed. "What is the last place in this mall you want to be in?"

"The last place _in_ the mall? I don't even want to be in the mall in the first place!" he retorted.

"Fine, but if you had to pick one place to avoid at all costs, what would you pick?"

Shadow blinked a moment, then came up with the answer. "The Victoria's Se–"

"BESIDES THAT," May interrupted him a little too politely.

"Hmph," Shadow grumbled. "Definitely the line for Santa."

"Exactly," she said, "and you never go anywhere you don't want to go if you don't have to, right?"

"Right."

"So if you're in line with Santa, no one will think to look for you there, right? You'll be safe from prying eyes!"

Shadow put a hand on his chin, then nodded. "You're right. They won't find me. All right. I'll do it, but only this once. Then, never again."

"Deal," May smiled, and she brought him over and had him stand in line. "It's a long line, so you should have plenty of time to think of what to ask for."

"Wait, huh? I'm supposed to ask –"

"I'll come pick you up when I'm done!" she called, not hearing him as she ran off to do her shopping. Shadow was left there with a blank expression.

"I'm supposed to ask for something?" he said to himself. "What's that supposed to mean?"

* * *

As expected, May's shopping took a couple hours. Shadow stood in line all that time, arms folded and mouth shut. Thankfully, none of the kids were giving him trouble. They were all too excited that they were seeing Santa and asking for gifts. Better yet, no one seemed to recognize him in his winter attire.

 _I guess Ash's mom is a good seamstress if she can create a disguise as effective as this_ he thought.

An hour and fifty-five minutes of waiting in line later, it was finally Shadow's turn. By then, most of the other kids had given up on seeing Santa and left with their parents. He walked up and saw a very large man in a red suit and hat with a white beard sitting on a chair. Shadow noticed that he seemed to be slouching a little, and his face was wrinkled and frowning.

"All right, come on," the man almost mumbled in a gruff voice. "Hurry up and tell me what ya want. I've already dealt with a million of you brats already."

"Well," Shadow began," I don't really know what I want for Christmas this year. To be honest, I –"

"Huh? What?!" the man suddenly blurted, startling Shadow. "Oh, jeez, I need to pee real bad." Shadow tensed up at that last remark. "Ugh," the man went on. "Merry frickin' Christmas. Here. Have a stupid candy cane."

He handed Shadow a candy shaped like a cane. Shadow held it in his hand a moment, unsure if he should toss it away or what. Then something caught his eye.

The candy cane was red and white, the stripes twirling around the whole thing. On seeing this, his mind recalled something else that was red and white: a bandana, worn by a lovely brunette whose sapphire eyes bore a striking resemblance to someone else he once cared for. His eyes softened, his body relaxed, and he held the candy cane to his mouth a moment and licked it. The minty flavor made his mouth feel fresh and new.

"This," he murmured to himself so that no one else could hear, "almost made me smile." He looked back up at Santa, a soft expression on his face, though Santa didn't seem to notice. "You know, Santa...for someone with such a bad weight problem and an even worse demeanor, I can at least say that you do some good stuff."

Santa suddenly perked. "Hey, wait a second!" he said to Shadow. "You're one of my elves, aren't you?!" Shadow just rolled his eyes. "Go over there and get me that girl's number so I can get some ho-ho-ho-ing on her!" He turned his gaze in the direction Santa was pointing. Then he froze.

The girl Santa was pointing at was carrying several boxes, it looked as though a trip would ruin everything. And that's just what happened, as she tumbled over her feet, her boxes scattering everywhere.

"Doggone it," she mumbled. "Not again."

The brown hair, the green bandana, the rose-colored coat, the sapphire eyes...there was no mistaking it. It was May.

"Ohh, yeah! Santa likes, Santa likes!" the man grinned, getting up from his chair and stumbling towards the girl. Shadow glared at him angrily.

 _Oh no you don't!_ he thought.

* * *

"Okay," May said, wedging the metal spudger between Shadow's skin and the bullet. "One more push, okay? One...two...three!" She adjusted it sharply.

"EEEYAAUUUGGGGHHHH!" Shadow screamed in pain. May turned and saw something shiny clink onto the ground.

"I did it!" she exclaimed, picking up the freed bullet between her fingers. "Shadow, I did it!"

"I can tell," he moaned, clutching his arm as it burned. May quickly took a small gauze and applied it, wrapping a handkerchief around it to keep it in place.

"That should help," she assured him. "It'll hurt for a little while, but don't worry. Before you know it, you'll be good as new."

He just grunted in response. "Why did you even do that?" he asked. "I told you, I was fine."

"Not that I care," she retorted playfully. "I did it because you're my friend. I don't like seeing my friends in pain."

"As much as I appreciate that, it was still unnecessary."

May just smiled and bent down to his level. "I know you think that something like lead poisoning can't hurt you, but I really don't know if you're immune to it. I wedged that bullet out because even if a shot couldn't kill you, lead poisoning could probably get you sick." She put a hand on his shoulder. "And I hate seeing my friends get sick."

Shadow's expression was soft as she spoke. Finally, with a sigh, he conceded. "You're a good friend, May," he said. "I wish I could be like you."

She smiled and hugged him lightly. "You already are," she said.

Shadow just returned the hug, smiling slightly. "Well, what do you know?" he chuckled. "I finally know what I want for Christmas."

May's eyes shot open, and she pulled out. "Oh, that reminds me: how did it go with you and Santa?"

At that, Shadow's small smile faded, but his expression remained soft. "Actually, it wasn't so bad. It was better than I thought it would be, and I'm actually looking forward to seeing him again next year."

May blinked in surprise. "Really?" she said. Shadow nodded. At this, May just shrugged and pulled out some candy canes. "Want one?" she asked.

He smiled slightly once again. "Wouldn't have it any other way."

* * *

Close to the ceiling of the mall, a large object was suspended in mid-air, replacing the chandelier. Every now and then, the object grunted and snorted in slight pain from earlier that day.

"YoullShootYourEyeOut," he muttered in his stupor. "Uh...ImInAStoreAndImSinging. WhatsAChristmasGramIWantOne..."

* * *

 **Well, I hope you enjoyed that. Feel free to rate and review, but no flames please. Merry Christmas, everybody!**


End file.
